Plans for Ford Plug-in Hybrids to Europe?

Ford is looking to expand its reach in international markets, and it may be planning to introduce PHEVs in Europe in order to keep pace with competitors.

Ford is “actively considering” bringing plug-in hybrid versions of vehicles like the Mondeo and C-Max to Europe to compete with the recently-launched Volkswagen Golf plug-in hybrid and the Passat plug-in hybrid that is scheduled to release last year.

Demand for plug-in hybrids in Europe has been low, all things considered, so this could be viewed as a major gamble on the part of Ford. However, Uli Koesters, Ford vehicle line director for large cars in Europe, told Automotive News Europe that Ford is only exploring the possibility of a new plug-in hybrid if VW’s foray proves fruitful.

“I believe the plug-in take-up in Europe is not quite as ready as some people would like to think, but it is clearly a technology that can do a lot better at significantly reducing fuel consumption and that is why we are actively looking at it.”

The new-look 2016 Ford C-MAX

Bringing Ford plug-in hybrids to Europe would be a relatively easy proposition for the automaker with the flexibility of its One Ford plan. Adding that the C-Max is sold as a PHEV in the United States, as well as the Mondeo-compatible Fusion, the risks would be relatively low if Ford is able to capture the majority of the European PHEV market share.